Race Recap: San Jose 5mi 2018, Virtual Runner

Slight sarcasm intended. They are quick because there isn’t much to talk about. I paid to run at my leisure. For some reason, I find myself needing to recap my virtual runs. Maybe because its something new or maybe because I spent money to run on my own time, in my own city, with no race fun. But here I am, telling you about the time I acted like a true virtual runner, unlike when I virtually ran the Scottsdale 5k.

I love the voice the Giant Race team has cultivated. They are sassy and fun, not stuffy and uptight like you’d expect a professional sports league to be. Probably because it’s run by runners 😉 Kidding, but the leeway they h their races makes this series so extra awesome. It doesn’t feel corporately ran and dominated. They are fun. And their emails prove it!

Normally, I’d drive (after work) to Lil’s to stay Friday night and we’d get up dumb early on Saturday to run this race together in San Jose. This race is one of those weird Saturday runs. But we both decided that since it also falls on the same weekend as my fave Sac race, Women’s Fitness Festival, we weren’t going to do all that traveling this year. They ALWAYS fall on the same weekend, this isn’t new news to us! Since we wanted to get the Series Sweep Giant Race award, we could easily do both races by running our beloved SJ race virtually. I actually love this race, as you can read in my various recaps of it. I love that we get to run through different terrains and through some small, yet fun elevations. Nothing dramatic, but enough for your legs to feel it.

Sadly, we wouldn’t be entertaining that this year. It was for the best though and I was okay with this decision. Also, not to mention this was the weekend before we left for an upcoming vacation. So, serendipitously, it was the right choice for us! I chose to run it on the actual race day this time like they intended. I was not going to run it any other day, even though I had the freedom to do so. So, I got up, had some coffee, got dressed and headed to my old stomping grounds to do my fave five-mile loop. I knew I had a 10k the next day and was planning to go to Midtown after my run, so I didn’t try to ‘race’ this run. I ran strong and enjoyed it, but I didn’t push the pace. This would be the most mileage I’ve run in one weekend, for a VERY long time!

It was a nice day for a run and also fun to head back to where I used to live and run this course. It’s been awhile since I’ve run the loop, even while living there, and there was a lot of construction going on. I had to run in the brush for about a quarter of a mile since they are redoing the pavement and had to alter the lanes of traffic. Not a big deal at all. I did throw down on a couple ProBar chews for the run, since again, I haven’t been running that much. I’ll take an organic sugar jolt any day!

Mile 1 – 9:45.29

Mile 2 – 9:58.65

Mile 3 – 9:31.63

Mile 4 – 9:26.79

Mile 5 – 9:23.52

Mile 6 – 12:57.

Total Time – 48:21.4Total Distance – 5.02 Miles

Average Pace – 9:38 Min/Mile

Official Result – NADA, None for Virtual Runners

After the run, I snagged a selfie by the pond and stretched ever so slightly. I then hopped into my car and headed straight to Midtown for my normal Saturday workout. I was beat, but did the workout and felt accomplished.

I could have posted this right after I ran it, but I wanted to wait until I received my virtual runner packet, so I could share what I received. They always send it after the run is completed, which I think is lame, but understand logistically why they chose to do this. Also, I didn’t notice for my last virtual run, but I love the bib number they gave was the year! I thought that was a cute touch! They did surprise me with a cute Giant Race sticker. That was new in the package and wasn’t expected. Gotta love surprises (love language or not)!

Virtual running is for those who kinda want to run, kinda want to do their own thing…